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T-80
}} The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976. Overview and tactics *The T-80 and its variants (T-80B, T-80A, T-80BV and the T-80U) are an efficient combination of firepower, speed and armor for their price. Only lacking in accuracy, no NATO tank in the ~90 points range can compare except for the AMX-32 at 80 points, and that tank suffers from low armour and is very vulnerable against the 9 AP and 10 rpm of the T-80 series. *While excellent in many ways and capable to be the backbone of any PACT force, the T-80s will also get targeted due the menace they pose to the enemy. Competent commanders will have them in a high priority list, thus forcing their owners to bring some support in the from of lighter units to shield them and help to demoralize the enemy with massed firepower. *The T-80 is sturdy but not unbreakable. In dire situations its 70km/h speed can allow it to escape from slower enemies, while on the offensive its speed and stabilizer allow it to be a decent chaser. *Some recon and AA support will always be useful as this increases the survivability of the T-80s as well as its scoring power. Having poor optics means the T-80 will always require a spotter to take full benefit of its range. *The T-80 has just decent reserves of ammo and fuel, while it can travel long distances it still needs some supply vehicles to support them during long battles. It should be noted that this tank uses a Gas Turbine Engine and will need to refuel after travelling great distances. *All T-80 models in the game have a slightly lower top armor value of 3 compared to the T-72B series' 4, although it's superior to the T-72B in nearly every other aspect. History The project to build the first Soviet turbine powered tank began in 1949. Its designer was A. Ch. Starostienko, who worked at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ). The tank was never built because available turbine engines were of very poor quality. In 1955 two prototype 1,000 hp turbine engine were built at the same plant under the guidance of G. A. Ogloblin. Two years later a team led by the famous heavy tank designer Ż. J. Kotin constructed two prototypes of the Ob'yekt 278 tank. Both were hybrids of the IS-7 and the T-10 heavy tanks, powered by the GTD-1 turbine engine, weighing 53.5 tonnes and armed with the M65 130 mm tank gun. The turbine engine allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed of 57.3 km/h but with only 1950 liters of fuel on board, range was a mere 300 km. The two tanks were considered experimental vehicles and work on them eventually ceased. In 1963, the Morozov Design Bureau designed the T-64 and T-64T tanks. They used a GTD-3TL turbine engine which generated 700 hp. The tank was tested until 1965. At the same time in Uralvagonzavod a design team under the guidance of L. N. Karcew created the Ob'yekt 167T tank. It used the GTD-3T turbine engine which supplied 801 hp. In 1966 the experimental Ob'yekt 288 rocket tank, powered by two aerial GTD-350 turbine engines with a combined power of 691 hp, was first built. Trials indicated that twin propulsion was no better than the turbine engine which had been in development since 1968 at KB-3 of the Kirov Plant and at WNII Trans Masz. The tank from LKZ equipped with this turbine engine was designed by Nikolay Popov. It was constructed in 1969 and designated Ob'yekt 219 SP1. It was renamed the T-64T, and was powered by a GTD-1000T multi-fuel gas turbine engine producing up to 1,000 hp. During the trials it became clear that the increased weight and dynamic characteristics required a complete redesign of the vehicle's caterpillar track system. The second prototype, designated Ob'yekt 219 SP2, received bigger drive sprockets and return rollers. The number of wheels was increased from four to five. The construction of the turret was altered to use the same compartment, 125 mm 2A46 tank gun, auto loader and placement of ammunition as the T-64A. Some additional equipment was scavenged from the T-64A. The LKZ plant built a series of prototypes based on Ob'yekt 219 SP2. After seven years of upgrades, the tank became the T-80. In 1985 there were 1,900 T-80 MBTs overall. According to data publicized in Russia, 2,256 T-80 MBTs were stationed in East Germany between 1986 and 1987. NATO realized that new Soviet tanks could reach the Atlantic within two weeks and because of that started to develop counter methods that could stop them. This led to a sudden increase in development of anti-tank weapons including attack helicopters. In 1991 when the Soviet Union was breaking up the Soviet Army operated 4,839 T-80 MBTs in several different models. T-80 MBTs were never used in the way in which they were intended (large scale conventional war in Europe). They were deployed during the political and economical changes in Russia in the 1990s; In August 1991 communists and allied military commanders tried to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev and regain control over the unstable Soviet Union. T-80UD tanks of the Russian 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division drove onto the streets of Moscow but the Soviet coup attempt failed. Less than three years later, T-80U tanks of the same division followed Russian President Yeltsin's orders to fire on the Kremlin during the 1993 Constitutional Crisis. Weapons ''European Escalation AirLand Battle Red Dragon'' Gallery WAB Armory T-80.png|T-80 in the WAB armory. See Also *Wikipedia: T-80 *T-72 - Predecessor Category:Main Battle Tanks Category:European Escalation tanks Category:AirLand Battle vehicles